Light source circuit unit, illuminator, and display

ABSTRACT

Provided are a light source circuit unit that improves light extraction efficiency, as well as an illuminator and a display that include such a light source circuit unit. The light source circuit unit includes: a circuit substrate having a wiring pattern on a surface thereof, the wiring pattern having light reflectivity, a circular pedestal provided on the circuit substrate, a water-repelling region provided at least from a peripheral edge portion of the pedestal to a part of a side face of the pedestal, and one or two or more light-emitting device chips mounted on the pedestal, and driven by a current that flows through the wiring pattern.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 16/515,795, filed Jul. 18, 2019, which is a continuation ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/027,678, filed Jul. 5, 2018, andissued as U.S. Pat. No. 10,411,172 on Sep. 10, 2019, which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/679,904, filed Aug.17, 2017, and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 10,056,532 on Aug. 21, 2018, whichis a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/208,214, filedJul. 12, 2016, and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,773,957 on Sep. 26, 2017,which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/713,628,filed May 15, 2015, and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,412,919 on Aug. 9,2016, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/125,161, filed Dec. 10, 2013, and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,059,382on Jun. 16, 2015, which is a National Stage filing of InternationalApplication No. PCT/JP2012/063748, filed May 29, 2012, and published asWO 2012/172967 on Dec. 20, 2012, which claims the benefit of JapanesePatent Application No. 2011-135656, filed Jun. 17, 2011 in the JapanPatent Office, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein byreference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a light source circuit unit and anilluminator that use light-emitting devices such as LEDs (Light-EmittingDiodes) as a light source, as well as a display that includes such anilluminator as a backlight.

BACKGROUND ART

A light-emitting diode (LED) has drawn attention as a backlight (lightsource) for a liquid crystal display and the like, or as a light sourcefor an illuminator that is alternative to an incandescent lamp and afluorescent lamp.

Typically, an LED chip that is mounted on a substrate and the like issealed with a sealant (sealing lens). This sealant uses silicon and thelike as a main constituent material, and has a refractive index in theorder of about 1.5. When light is incident from a material with therefractive index of 1.5 toward the air with the refractive index of 1.0,a critical angle may become about 41.8 degrees, and any light with anangle of incidence onto the front face of the sealing lens that exceeds41.8 degrees may be totally reflected, resulting in preventing suchlight from being emitted externally. Further, for a light source usingthe LED, it is possible to obtain light with the wavelength differentfrom that of light emitted by the LED in a manner of kneading afluorescent material into the sealant. The fluorescent material that iskneaded into the sealant is excited by light irradiated by the LED toemit light almost uniformly in all directions. This shows that the lightextraction efficiency is improved by allowing the sealing lens to havethe shape that causes the largest amount of light emitted within thesealing lens to directly pass through the front face of the lens, thatis, to have the hemispheric shape.

As a method of forming a sealing lens in the hemispheric shape, a resinsealing method for an LED chip has been disclosed that provides a resistlayer at the outside of a sealing region to adjust a lens shape on thebasis of a difference in the water-repellent property between the resistlayer and a substrate (for example, see Patent Literature 1).

PRIOR ART DOCUMENT Patent Literature

-   Patent Literature 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application    Publication No. 2001-332770

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

However, such a sealing method has been disadvantageous in thatpractically a sealant gets onto the resist layer in a wet state,resulting in a lens in the form far from the hemispheric shape beingonly obtained. Consequently, satisfactory improvement of the lightextraction efficiency has not been found.

It is therefore desirable to provide a light source circuit unit, anilluminator, and a display that improve the light extraction efficiency.

A light source circuit unit according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure includes: a circuit substrate having a wiring pattern on asurface thereof, the wiring pattern having light reflectivity; acircular pedestal provided on the circuit substrate; a water-repellingregion provided at least from a peripheral edge portion of the pedestalto a part of a side face of the pedestal; and one or two or morelight-emitting device chips mounted on the pedestal, and driven by acurrent that flows through the wiring pattern.

Each of an illuminator and a display according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure includes the above-described light source circuitunit.

In the light source circuit unit, the illuminator, or the displayaccording to the embodiment of the present disclosure, thelight-emitting device chip is mounted on the pedestal that has thewater-repellent region from the peripheral edge portion to a part of theside face. Thereby, the sealing lens having a diameter almost identicalto that of the pedestal and in an almost hemispheric shape is obtained.

In the light source circuit unit, the illuminator, and the displayaccording to the embodiments of the present disclosure, thelight-emitting device chip is mounted on the pedestal that has thewater-repelling region from the peripheral edge portion to a part of theside face, and the sealing lens is provided on the pedestal. This formsthe sealing lens having a diameter almost identical to that of thepedestal and in an almost hemispheric shape. Therefore, it is possibleto efficiently extract light emitted by the light-emitting device chip.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

(A) and (B) of FIG. 1 are a plan view and a cross-sectional viewrespectively showing a light source circuit unit according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an electrode configuration of anLED chip.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram for explaining a process of forming asealing lens.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a light source circuit unitaccording to a comparative example 1.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a light source circuit unitaccording to a comparative example 2.

(A) and (B) of FIG. 6 are a plan view and a cross-sectional viewrespectively showing a light source circuit unit according to amodification example.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a liquid crystal displayaccording to an application example 1.

(A) and (B) of FIG. 8 are a plan view and a cross-sectional view for aprincipal part respectively showing a liquid crystal display accordingto an application example 2.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing a liquid crystal displayaccording to an application example 3.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing a liquid crystal displayaccording to an application example 4.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing a liquid crystal displayaccording to an application example 5.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing a wiring configuration of anotherLED chip.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure are described indetails with reference to the attached drawings. It is to be noted thatthe descriptions are provided in the order given below.

Embodiment (an example where an LED chip is mounted on a pedestal havinga water-repelling region from a peripheral edge portion to the side facethereof)

Modification Example (an example where a pedestal is formed of awater-repellent agent)

Application Example 1 (an example of a direct-type backlight)

Application Example 2 (an example of a divided substrate)

Application Example 3 (an example where a circuit substrate in afolded-back state is connected with a drive substrate at the back sideof a supporting member)

Application Example 4 (an example where a circuit substrate is curvedalong with a supporting member)

Application Example 5 (an example of an edge-type backlight)

Embodiment

(A) of FIG. 1 shows a planar structure of a light source circuit unit 1according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and (B) of FIG. 1shows a cross-sectional structure of the light source circuit unit 1 inan I-I′ dashed line illustrated in (A) of FIG. 1. The light sourcecircuit unit 1, which may be used as a backlight for a display such as aliquid crystal display and the like, or as a light source circuit unitthat is alternative to an incandescent lamp and a fluorescent lamp,includes a light-emitting device chip, for example, an LED chip 13, thatis covered with a dome-like sealing lens 12 on a circuit substrate 11.The number of the LED chips 13 is one in this example, although thenumber may be two or more, and a large number of the LED chips 13 may beused in a matrix pattern when they are applied to a direct-typebacklight.

On the front face of the circuit substrate 11, there is provided awiring pattern 14 with light reflectivity. The wiring pattern 14 mayinclude, for example, a wiring layer 14A and a wiring layer 14B forsupplying a drive current to the LED chip 13, as well as a pedestal 14Cfor mounting the LED chip 13 thereon. These wiring layers 14A and 14B,as well as the pedestal 14C have electrical conductivity, and are formedof materials having the light reflectivity using the same process, beingelectrically independent with respect to one another. It is to be notedthat, in the present embodiment, the pedestal 14C only has a function asa pedestal for the LED chip 13 and a function of determining a shape anda position of the sealing lens 12, and does not have an original wiringfunction. Further, the wiring pattern 14 also includes an alignment mark14D to be used at the time of mounting the LED chip 13 on the pedestal14C and forming a water-repelling region (water-repelling layer 17). Twoalignment marks 14D are provided on a diagonal line of the pedestal 14Con the basis of a line connecting the wiring layers 14A and 14B, andforming these alignment marks 14D by the use of the same process andplate (mask) as with the pedestal 14C makes it possible to facilitate analignment of a lens center of the sealing lens 12 with a center of theLED chip 13. It is to be noted that here the “light reflectivity” refersto a case where the reflectivity for the light emitted by the LED chip13 (light emitted from back side) has a high value of 90% or more.Specific examples of materials having such light reflectivity mayinclude aluminum (Al), silver (Ag), an alloy of these materials, or thelike. However, Al may be the most preferable in terms of cost. Further,two alignment marks 14D are provided on a diagonal line in this example,although the number of the alignment marks 14D is not limited thereto,but four alignment marks 14D may be alternatively provided to surroundthe pedestal 14C.

It is to be noted that the wiring layers 14A and 14B, the pedestal 14C,and the alignment mark 14D may be preferably formed of the samematerials using the same process to simplify the process as describedabove, although the pedestal 14C may be formed of any materialsdifferent from those of the wiring layers 14A and 14B as well as thealignment mark 14D using any different process.

As shown in an example in FIG. 2, the LED chip 13 may have twoelectrodes (n-type electrode 13A and p-type electrode 13B) on the frontface thereof. The LED chip 13 may be configured of, for example, abuffer layer 13 b that is formed on a transparent substrate 13 a, ann-type cladding layer 13 c, an active layer 13 d, a p-type claddinglayer 13 e, and a cap layer 13 f. The n-type electrode 13A iselectrically connected with the n-type cladding layer 13 c, and thep-type electrode 13B is electrically connected with the cap layer 13 f.

The n-type electrode 13A and the p-type electrode 13B of the LED chip 13are electrically connected with the wiring layers 14A and 14B throughwires (bonding wires) 15A and 15B of aluminum (Al), gold (Au), or anyother material, respectively. In other words, the LED chip 13 is drivenby a current flowing through the wiring layers 14A and 14B as well asthe wires 15A and 15B, thereby emitting light.

In the present embodiment, this LED chip 13 is mounted directly on thepedestal 14C. Hereupon, the word “directly” means that the back sideitself of the LED chip 13 (above-described transparent substrate) isfirmly fixed to the pedestal 14C by means of die bonding and the likewithout incorporating the LED chip 13 into a package or withoutproviding a reflective layer such as a tin- or gold-plated layer betweenthe pedestal 14C and the LED chip 13. As shown in FIG. 1, however, anadhesive layer such as a transparent paste 16 for die bonding may beinterposed between the pedestal 14C and the LED chip 13. It is to benoted that, in the present embodiment, the transparent paste 16 has noelectrical conductivity, although as described later, when an LED chiphaving electrodes on both sides is to be used, the transparent paste 16has the electrical conductivity because the pedestal 14C has a functionas a current path.

The circuit substrate 11 may be preferably flexible and foldable, and inconcrete terms, any material in which the wiring pattern 14 is printedon a resin film made of PET (polyethylene terephthalate), fluorine, PEN(polyethylene naphthalate), or the like may be used for the circuitsubstrate 11. The resin film may have, for example, a film thicknesswithin a range of 20 μm to 50 μm, and the wiring pattern 14 may have,for example, a thickness within a range of 35 μm to 50 μm, although thethickness values are not limited thereto.

In addition, as the circuit substrate 11, any material in which a wiringpattern of the above-described reflective quality of material is printedon a relevant insulating resin layer on a metal-based substrate made ofAl and the like where the insulating resin layer configured ofpolyimide, epoxy-based, or any other material is formed on the frontface may be used alternatively. Further, any material in which a wiringpattern of the above-described reflective quality of material is printedon a film substrate that is made of a glass-containing resin, such asFR4 (glass epoxy resin) and CEM3 (glass composite resin) may be used.

The sealing lens 12 has a dome-like shape, and protects the LED chip 13and improves the extraction efficiency of light that is emitted out ofthe LED chip 13. This sealing lens 12 may be configured of, for example,a transparent resin such as silicon and acrylic resin, and is formed tocover a whole area of the LED chip 13. Further, as described above, thissealing lens 12 may include a fluorescent material. For example, it ispossible to adjust a color tone of light that is emitted out of the LEDchip 13 by kneading a fluorescent material into a transparent resin suchas silicon and acrylic resin with a weight ratio of, for example, 10 wt.%. In other words, when light at a predetermined wavelength isirradiated from the LED chip 13, a fluorescent material contained in thesealing lens 12 is excited to emit light at a wavelength different fromthat of the irradiated light. For the fluorescent material, for example,an yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) fluorescent material and the like maybe used.

As is the case for the present embodiment, for the LED chip 13 that ismounted directly on the pedestal 14C which is provided on the circuitsubstrate 11, and that involves bonding wires 15A and 15B for providinga power supply, a bottom of the sealing lens has a size large enough toprevent the bonding wires 15A and 15B from running over. Morespecifically, as shown in (B) of FIG. 1, a lens radius R of the sealinglens 12 becomes a value obtained by adding a length A of the bondingwire 15A (or the bonding wire 15B) from an end face of the LED chip 13and a margin B that absorbs any manufacturing variations, such as alength or a connecting location of the bonding wire 15A (15B) and aformation position or a size (lens radius R) of the sealing lens 12, toa value equivalent to a half of a chip size L. A length for each of thebonding wires 15A and 15B is determined along with a wire diametercompatible with strength necessary for the reliability that is demandedby an applicable product. Further, a margin for manufacturing variationsis determined depending on the accuracy of manufacturing equipment inuse. As an example, the lens radius R of the sealing lens 12 in the casewhere the LED chip 13 with the chip size L of 510 μm is used may becomethe following value. For example, in assuming a backlight for a liquidcrystal display, a diameter y and the wire length A of a bonding wiremay become 25 μm and 0.7 mm, respectively. Each positional accuracy ofthe bonding equipment may be about +/−0.03 mm, each positional accuracyof a lens center may be about +/−0.1 mm, and a positional accuracy of alens radius in accordance with a silicon coating amount may be about+/−0.12 mm. Based on this assumption, given that a gap between a bondingwire and the sealing lens 12 is 0.3 mm, the margin B in this case isobtained by the following expression: B=0.03+0.1+0.12+0.3=0.55 mm.Therefore, a design value of the lens radius R for the sealing lens 12may become about 1.6 mm from the following expression: R=0.255+0.7+0.55.

Further, the sealing lens 12 according to the present embodiment has anapproximately hemispherical shape with a ratio of a radius R to a heightH of a bottom of the sealing lens 12 (aspect ratio H/R) of 0.8 or more,preferably, 0.85 or more, particularly among other dome-like shapes. Asdescribed previously, when silicon is used as a material for the sealinglens 12, due to a difference in the refractive index between the air andsilicon, light incoming onto the front face of the sealing lens 12 istotally reflected into the inside of the sealing lens 12 if an incidentangle exceeds a critical angle (41.8 degrees). Additionally, for thesealing lens 12 in which a fluorescent material is kneaded, thefluorescent material is excited when light which is emitted out of theLED chip 13 is applied onto the fluorescent material contained in thesealing lens 12, thereby emitting light at a wavelength different fromthat of the light from the LED chip 13. On this occasion, in addition tothe light that is emitted out of the LED chip 13, the fluorescentmaterial also emits light almost uniformly in all directions.Accordingly, to improve the extraction efficiency of emitted lightwithin the sealing lens 12, a lens shape of the sealing lens 12 may bepreferably formed in such a manner that an angle of incidence onto thefront face of the lens for the light that is emitted almost uniformly inall directions becomes equal to or less than the critical angle. It isfound that more preferably the sealing lens 12 may be in a shapeallowing light to pass through the sealing lens 12 in a state where theincident angle is close to zero degree, that is, in a hemisphericalshape.

The sealing lens 12 in such a shape is obtained by providing thepedestal 14C between the LED chip 13 and the circuit substrate 11.

As described above, the pedestal 14C is the wiring pattern 14 that isformed using the same process and plate as with the wiring layers 14Aand 14B, and mounts the LED chip 13 thereon and determines an outerdiameter of the sealing lens 12. This pedestal 14C takes a circularform, and a radius R thereof is served as a design value for the lensradius R of the sealing lens 12. Further, a thickness of the pedestal14C may be at least equal to or greater than a thickness (diameter) of aconstituent material for the sealing lens 12, for example, a siliconatom. The thickness may be preferably within a range of 20 μm to 50 μm,thereby allowing the sealing lens 12 to be formed in an approximatelyhemispherical shape. The pedestal 14C is formed with the water-repellinglayer 17 from a peripheral edge portion to the side face thereof and thecircuit substrate 11 at the periphery of the pedestal 14C. It is to benoted that the “circular form” as used herein may not be necessarily aprecise circular form. More specifically, if it is possible to form theabove-described sealing lens 12 in an approximately hemispherical shape,the circular form may have any uneven portion on the circumference.Additionally, here the water-repelling layer 17 is formed on the sideface and over a whole peripheral region of the pedestal 14C in additionto a peripheral edge portion of the pedestal 14C, although an area wherethe water-repelling layer 17 is formed is not limited thereto, but thewater-repelling layer 17 may be at least formed in continuity at aperipheral edge portion and a part of the side face of the pedestal 14C.

The water-repelling layer 17 forms the sealing lens 12 in apredetermined shape and at a predetermined position in conjunction withthe pedestal 14C. After mounting of the LED chip 13 on the pedestal 14Con which the water-repelling layer 17 is formed, when potting of asealant is performed on the pedestal 14C, the sealant runs upon thewater-repelling layer 17 that is provided at a peripheral edge portionof the pedestal 14C. When the potting is continued as it is, the sealantspreads with a certain contact angle kept along an inside diameter ofthe water-repelling layer 17 to reach an outer edge of the pedestal 14Cin due course. The sealant that has reached the outer edge takes aspherical form gradually without spilling out of the pedestal 14C byvirtue of the water-repelling property of the water-repelling layer 17and the surface tension of the sealant itself. On this occasion, thewater-repelling layer 17 may preferably have a film thickness ensuringthat a bump between the pedestal 14C and the circuit substrate 11 isbridged and an edge portion of the outer edge does not take a slopedform, for example, a film thickness within a range of 1 μm to 2 μm. Thewater-repelling layer 17 may be formed of, for example, awater-repelling agent such as a fluorocarbon resin.

It is to be noted that a white-color resist layer (not shown in thedrawing) may be provided between the wiring layers 14A and 14B and anouter circumferential portion of the sealing lens 12. Further, thewhite-color resist layer may be also provided on the circuit substrate11 between the pedestal 14C within a region covered by the sealing lens12 and the wiring layers 14A and 14B. Examples of such a white-colorresist may include an inorganic material such as titanium oxide (TiO₂)microparticle and barium sulfate (BaSO₄), and an organic material suchas porous acrylic resin microparticle having a countless number of poresfor light scattering and polycarbonate resin microparticle. In concreteterms, a solder resist FINEDEL DSR-330S42-13W (product name, TAMURAKAKEN CORPORATION) and the like are available. These white-color resistlayers may cause deterioration in the reflectivity due to heating duringbonding and any other factor, although they have a light reflectionfunctionality (reflectivity in the order of a first half of 80%).

The light source circuit unit 1 may be manufactured using, for example,the following processes.

First, on the circuit substrate 11, a solid Al film with a thickness,for example, within a range of 20 μm to 50 μm is formed, and thereafterthe wiring layers 14A and 14B, the pedestal 14C, and the alignment mark14D are formed thereon. On this occasion, the pedestal 14C is in acircular form with the same radius as the radius R of the designedsealing lens 12 as described above. Subsequently, after a transparentpaste 16 is applied on the pedestal 14C, alignment is performed usingthe alignment mark 14D, and the LED chip 13 is mounted in a manner ofensuring an alignment of a center of the pedestal 14C with a center ofthe LED chip 13. Then, the LED chip 13 is fixed firmly on the pedestal14C through heat hardening. Afterward, connection among two electrodes(n-type electrode 13A and p-type electrode 13B) on the LED chip 13 andthe wiring layers 14A and 14B is carried out using the above-describedwires 15A and 15B through wire bonding.

Next, a water-repelling agent is applied circularly over an area from aperipheral edge portion of the pedestal 14C to a peripheral part of thepedestal 14C to form the water-repelling layer 17 with a film thicknesswithin a range of 1 μm to 2 μm, and thereafter potting of a moderateamount of sealant (for example, silicon resin or the like) is performedon the pedestal 14C. A “moderate amount” as used herein refers to anamount that allows the sealant to keep the surface tension thereofwithout spilling down from the pedestal 14C. In concrete terms, for asealant with the viscosity in the order of 500 mPa, provided that anamount of a sealant reaching the outer circumferential portion of thepedestal 14C while keeping a contact angle along the water-repellinglayer 17 is assumed to be 100%, a sealant of as much as 125% or more maybe preferably applied. More preferably, the amount may be at least 125%but no more than 202%, thereby allowing to obtain the sealing lens 12 inan approximately spherical form with an aspect ratio of 0.85 or more.

FIG. 3 shows a potting process of a sealant in forming the sealing lens12. When a position of a coating nozzle X is aligned with a center ofthe LED chip 13, a potted sealant spreads stepwise symmetricallyrelative to a center of the LED chip 13. Once a sealant increases up tothe amount that causes it to run upon the water-repelling layer 17, itspreads while keeping a certain contact angle with the water-repellinglayer 17 along an inside diameter of the water-repelling layer 17. Asshown in FIG. 3, however, when a position of the coating nozzle X ismisaligned from a center of the LED chip 13, first of all, a sealantreaches a position (right-end side in the drawing) that is closest to aninside diameter of the water-repelling layer 17 and an outer diameter ofthe pedestal 14C. If injection of a sealant is still continued evenafter a sealant has reached an inside diameter of the pedestal 14C, asealant runs upon the water-repelling layer 17, and then reaches anouter edge of the pedestal 14C. Subsequently, if a sealant is furtherinjected, it runs out of the pedestal 14C, but remains in the pedestal14C without spilling off because it attempts to round by virtue of thesurface tension of the sealant itself. Moreover, if injection of asealant is continued, a sealant spreads in a direction (left-end side inthe drawing) away from an inside diameter of the water-repelling layer17 and an outer diameter of the pedestal 14C along an outer edge of thepedestal 14C to cover a whole area of the pedestal 14C eventually. Asdescribed above, in the present embodiment, a position of the pedestal14C becomes a position for forming the sealing lens 12 directly.

It is to be noted that when a sealant is further injected in a statewhere the sealant covers a whole area of the pedestal 14C, the sealantremains at an outer edge of the pedestal 14C by virtue of the surfacetension thereof, and increases a droplet height gradually, resulting intaking an approximately hemispherical form with an aspect ratio (H/R) of0.85 or more. However, if injection exceeding the surface tension of asealant is carried out, the sealant becomes unable to support its ownweight, spilling out of the pedestal 14C. Accordingly, for the injectionamount of a sealant, it may be desirable that an intermediate valuebetween an amount necessary for covering a whole area of the pedestal14C and a limit amount for preventing a sealant from spilling out of thepedestal 14C be used as the application amount in consideration ofvariation in the injection amount. This application amount is at least125% but no more than 202% as described above.

Following application of a sealant on the pedestal 14C, the sealant ishardened by heating it, for example, at temperature of 150 degreescentigrade for four hours. This allows to form the sealing lens 12 in anapproximately hemispherical form with an aspect ratio (H/R) of 0.85 ormore, and to obtain the light source circuit unit 1 illustrated in FIG.1.

It is to be noted that here the water-repelling layer 17 is formed afterdie bonding and wire bonding of the LED chip 13 onto the pedestal 14C,although a method is not limited thereto, but die bonding and wirebonding of the LED chip 13 onto the pedestal 14C may be carried outafter the water-repelling layer 17 is formed.

In the light source circuit unit 1 according to the present embodiment,the pedestal 14C having the water-repelling layer 17 at a peripheraledge portion and a part of the side face thereof is provided on thecircuit substrate 11 to mount the LED chip 13 thereon. By providing thesealing lens 12 on the pedestal 14C, the sealing lens 12 takes anapproximately hemispherical form with an aspect ratio (H/R) of 0.85 ormore. This improves the extraction efficiency of light that is emittedout of the LED chip 13. Hereinafter, this is further described.

Comparative Example 1

FIG. 4 shows a light source circuit unit 100A where an LED chip 113 isdie-bonded directly on a circuit substrate 111, as with the light sourcecircuit unit 1 according to the present embodiment. On the front face ofthe circuit substrate 111, a base material itself (for example, glassepoxy or resin film) for the substrate is used, or a white-color resistagent or a metallic layer made of Ag, Ai, or the like that is served asa wiring pattern is provided. When a sealing lens 112 is formed byapplying a sealant on such a circuit substrate 111, because the frontface of the circuit substrate 111 has low water-repelling propertyagainst a sealant, an aspect ratio (H/R) becomes within a range of about0.2 to 0.3, resulting in taking a shape far from the above-describedideal lens form (hemispherical form) as shown in FIG. 4.

Comparative Example 2

FIG. 5 shows a light source circuit unit 100B where a circularwater-repelling layer 117 is provided around an LED chip 113 that ismounted on a circuit substrate 111. In this light source circuit unit100B, because a sealant that is potted on the LED chip 113 gets onto thewater-repelling layer 117 in a wet state, and keeps a contact angle onthe water-repelling layer 117, it is possible to maintain a height H ofa lens as compared with the sealing lens 112 according to theabove-described comparative example 1. Even in such a configuration,however, an aspect ratio (H/R) is improved only inasmuch as 0.6 to 0.72,and the satisfactory extraction efficiency is not achieved.

Further, like the comparative example 2, when the water-repelling layer117 is provided around the LED chip 113, a position for forming thesealing lens 112 depends on the water-repelling layer 117. Like thepresent embodiment, as well as the comparative examples 1 and 2, in thelight source circuit unit where the LED chip is die-bonded directly onthe circuit substrate, an alignment mark is typically provided on thesubstrate for alignment of a mounting location of the LED chip. Thisalignment mark is also used for alignment in forming the water-repellinglayer 117, but each of mounting of the LED chip 113 onto the circuitsubstrate 111 and formation of the water-repelling layer 117 is carriedout using a different process and independent equipment. The chipmounting positional accuracy of currently available die bondingequipment is within a range of +/−20 μm to 30 μm, the substratepositioning accuracy of water-repelling agent application equipment iswithin a range of +/−20 μm to 30 μm, the positioning accuracy of a platefor the water-repelling agent is within a range of +/−20 μm to 30 μm,and the plate pattern positional accuracy is within a range of +/−20 μmto 30 μm. Consequently, a center of the LED chip 113 and a centerposition of the circular water-repelling layer 117 may vary by about 100μm. This results in a disadvantage that a displacement arises between acenter of the LED chip 113 and a center of the sealing lens 112.

As described above, in a light source circuit unit where a center of anLED chip and a center position of a sealing lens are misaligned, theintensity of light that is emitted from the LED chip becomes stronger ata location closer to the LED chip. Therefore, dispersion of the lightintensity (light distribution) for each angle of light that is emittedto the outside of a lens is not symmetrical relative to a center of theLED chip. Further, in a light source circuit unit where a fluorescentmaterial exhibiting the luminescence different from light that isemitted from the LED chip is kneaded in the sealing lens 112, anyvariation arises in a distance from the LED chip to the front face ofthe sealing lens due to misalignment in a center position between theLED chip and the sealing lens. This may also cause a disadvantage thatthe amount of the fluorescent material present in each direction doesnot become constant, resulting in the chromaticity being deviated from atarget thereof.

Like the present embodiment, as well as the comparative examples 1 and2, in the light source circuit unit (direct mounting-type LED) where theLED chip is mounted directly on the circuit substrate, it is possible toreduce costs significantly by virtue of less component count, thereduced number of manufacturing processes, and the like as compared witha light source circuit unit using a packaged LED chip (package-type LED)that has been typically in use. On the contrary, a display using thedirect mounting-type LED as a backlight has been disadvantageous in thatit has greater chromaticity unevenness and particulate unevenness than adisplay using the package-type LED. One reason for this is as follows.

In concrete terms, the package-type LED has an LED chip that is mountedon a lead frame, wherein a reflecting plate that is attached like a coneshape centering around this LED chip, a housing, and the like areprovided, and a space surrounded by these component parts is sealed by asealant. Since finished package-type LEDs have large variation in theluminance, chromaticity, drive voltage, or the like, they are inspectedindividually for the luminance or chromaticity after manufacturing, andthen are sorted for each of the LEDs having the nearly identicalcharacteristics to be used for a light source circuit unit. Accordingly,a light source circuit unit using the plurality of package-type LEDsmakes it possible to suppress any variations in the luminance andchromaticity. On the other hand, for the direct mounting-type LED,sorting of the LEDs for each of the luminescent characteristics is notpossible because such an LED is mounted directly on a circuit substrate.As a result, any variations in the luminance and chromaticity may arisewithin a light source circuit unit. Therefore, to reduce thechromaticity unevenness and particulate unevenness that may occur inusing the direct mounting-type LED as a backlight for a display, it hasbeen an issue to reduce variations in manufacturing.

In the light source circuit unit 1 according to the present embodiment,the LED chip 13 is mounted on the pedestal 14C that has thewater-repelling layer 17 from a peripheral edge portion to a part of theside face, and a sealant is applied on the pedestal 14C to form thesealing lens 12. In applying a sealant on the pedestal 14C, thewater-repelling layer 17 that is provided at the peripheral edge portionand the side face of the pedestal 14C makes it possible to control aspread of a sealant and to increase a height of the sealing lens 12, forexample, to improve the aspect ratio (H/L) inasmuch as about 0.9 (morespecifically, within a range of 0.85 to 0.98), thereby allowing to formthe sealing lens 12 in a nearly hemispherical form that is an ideal lensshape. This improves the light extraction efficiency of the light sourcecircuit unit 1 by about 5 to 10% as compared with the comparativeexample 2.

Further, in the light source circuit unit 1 according to the presentembodiment, the pedestal 14C is served as a position for forming thesealing lens 12 directly. This eliminates the necessity for consideringa displacement in forming the water-repelling layer 117 as found in thecomparative example 2. Additionally, in the present embodiment, as apart of the wiring pattern 14, the alignment mark 14D is formed alongwith the pedestal 14C in the same process and the same plate. Thisimproves the alignment accuracy in mounting the LED chip 13 on thepedestal 14C. In other words, any misalignment between a center of theLED chip 13 and a center of the sealing lens 12 is reduced, anddispersion of the light intensity (light distribution) for each angle oflight that is emitted to the outside of the sealing lens 12 becomessymmetrical relative to a center of the LED chip 13. More specifically,any variations in the chromaticity, extraction efficiency, and lightdistribution of the LED chip 13 provided with the sealing lens 12 arereduced, and thus any luminance unevenness such as particulateunevenness that may occur in using the light source circuit unit 1according to the present embodiment as a backlight is reduced. Thismakes it possible to provide a display that is provided with thecharacteristics equivalent to those of a display using the package-typeLED as a backlight at low cost.

In concrete terms, in the above-described comparative example 2, aposition of an outer diameter for the sealing lens 112 conforms to aninside diameter of the water-repelling layer 117, and an outer diameterof the sealing lens 112 conforms to the application amount of a sealant.Therefore, a variation in the radius R of the sealing lens 112 was+/−0.12 mm, and a variation in the alignment between a center of the LEDchip 113 and a center position of the sealing lens 112 was +/−0.13 mm.On the contrary, in the present embodiment, as described above, an outerdiameter of the sealing lens 12 coincides with an outer diameter of thepedestal 14C. Consequently, a variation in the outer diameter of thesealing lens 12 becomes congruent with a variation in the outer diameterof the pedestal 14C, that is, becomes the print accuracy. A variation inthe alignment between a center of the LED chip 13 and a center positionof the sealing lens 12 is equivalent to a value obtained by adding theaccuracy of the die bonding equipment to be used for the LED chip 13 tothe positional accuracy, that is, the print accuracy between thealignment mark 14D and a center of the pedestal 14C. When printing ofthe wiring layers 14A and 14B, the pedestal 14C, and the alignment mark14D is performed using a photoresist, because the positional accuracybecomes +/− several micrometers, and the plate pattern form accuracybecomes about +/−0.05 mm, a variation in the lens radius R is +/−0.05mm, a variation in the alignment between a center of the LED chip 13 anda center position of the sealing lens 12 is +/−0.03 mm plus severalmicrometers, resulting in a variation in the outer diameter of the lensand lens position being also reduced significantly.

Additionally, in the present embodiment, the LED chip 13 is mounted onthe pedestal 14C that is made of a conductive material, and thus anyheat that is generated in the LED chip 13 is transferred to the pedestal14C. In other words, the heat dissipation effect is achieved to improvethe operating characteristics (luminous efficiency) and the lifeproperty of the LED chip 13.

Hereinafter, the description is provided on a modification example forthe above-described embodiment. Any component parts essentially same asthose in the above-described embodiment are denoted with the samereference numerals, and the related descriptions are omitted asappropriate, and the descriptions on effects in common are also omittedas appropriate.

Modification Example

(A) of FIG. 6 shows a planar structure of a light source circuit unit 2according to this modification example, and (B) of FIG. 6 shows across-sectional structure of the light source circuit unit 2 in an II-IIdashed line illustrated in (A) of FIG. 6. The light source circuit unit2 according to this modification example is different from the lightsource circuit unit 1 according to the above-described embodiment inthat a pedestal 24C is formed of a water-repellent agent. Further, theLED chip 13 is mounted on a chip mounting layer 24E that is formed usingthe same material and the same process as with the wiring layers 14A and14B as well as the alignment mark 14D. It is to be noted that a shapesuch as a thickness of the pedestal 24C is the same as with theabove-described pedestal 14C. Further, in this modification example, theLED chip 13 is mounted on the chip mounting layer 24E that is made ofthe same material as the wiring pattern 14, although the LED chip 13 maybe mounted on the pedestal 24C that is formed of a water-repellentagent. However, the LED chip may be preferably mounted on the chipmounting layer 24E in consideration of ease of bonding, the heatdissipation effect resulting from use of a conductive material, and thelike.

In the light source circuit unit 2 according to this modificationexample, the pedestal 24C is formed of a water-repellent agent, therebyomitting a process of forming a water-repellent layer to reduce thenumber of processes in manufacturing processes for the light sourcecircuit unit 2.

The above-described light source circuit units 1 and 2 are foldable, andmay be applicable to illuminators for various applications, such asstreet lightings and surgical lightings. Further, they are applicable asa backlight (illuminator) for a display such as a liquid crystaldisplay. In such a case, each of them is applicable as both of a directtype where a light source unit is arranged directly underneath a liquidcrystal panel and an edge type where a light source is arranged on theend face of a light guide plate.

Application Example 1

FIG. 7 shows a structure of a liquid crystal display using a direct-typebacklight. In this backlight 40, for example, the above-described lightsource circuit unit 1 may be arranged on the bottom face of a backchassis 41 (supporting member). On the upper side of the light sourcecircuit unit 1, an optical sheet such as a diffusion sheet 43 issupported by a middle chassis 42. A diffusion sheet 44 is also providedon a sidewall of the back chassis 41.

In this liquid crystal display, light that is extracted from the sealinglens 12 of the light source circuit unit 1 is transmitted through thediffusion sheet 43 to reach a liquid crystal panel 45, and a part of thelight is reflected by the diffusion sheets 43 and 44, and further thereflected light thereof is returned back to the diffusion sheet 43 bythe white-color resist layer, a reflection sheet, or the like to reachthe liquid crystal panel 45, resulting in a display operation beingperformed.

Application Example 2

In the above-described direct-type backlight, it is difficult tomanufacture the large-sized light source circuit unit 1 for a reason ofmanufacturing a substrate, and thus a substrate may be often subdivided.Each of (A) and (B) of FIG. 8 shows a structure of a backlight 50 usingsuch a divided substrate. (A) of FIG. 8 illustrates a planar structurethereof, and (B) of FIG. 8 illustrates a cross-sectional structurethereof. In this backlight 50, for example, the above-described lightsource circuit unit 1 may be arranged on the bottom face of a backchassis 51 (supporting member). The plurality of light source circuitunits 1 are arranged in side-by-side, and a reflection sheet 58 isprovided in common with the plurality of light source circuit units 1.The reflection sheet 58, which may be configured of Al for example, hasan opening 51A corresponding to each of the LED chips 13.

On the upper side of the light source circuit unit 1, a diffusion sheet53 is supported by a middle chassis 52. At the front side of thebacklight 50, there is arranged a liquid crystal panel 54. At the backside of the back chassis 51, there is arranged an LED driving circuitsubstrate 55 for providing a drive current to the light source circuitunit 1. This LED driving circuit substrate 55 is provided with aconnector 55A. At one side of the reflection sheet 58, one end of an FFC(Flexible Flat Cable) 57 is joined by thermocompression bonding via anACF (Anisotropic Conductive Resin) 56. The back chassis 51 is providedwith a through-hole 51A in a shape corresponding to an end face shape(rectangular form) of the FFC 57. The FFC 57 is folded back to followalong the back side via the through-hole 51A from the inside of the backchassis 51. An end of the FFC 57 is a connector plug-in port, and thisconnector plug-in port is plugged into the connector 55A on the LEDdriving circuit substrate 55 to be electrically connected with oneanother.

In a liquid crystal display that is provided with such a backlight 50, adivided substrate is used, and thus even in the event that a failurearises in a part of the substrates due to the above-described directbonding, it is possible to deal with such a failure only by replacing arelevant defective substrate, eliminating the necessity for replacingall the substrates.

Application Example 3

FIG. 9 shows a structure of a liquid crystal display according to anapplication example 3. In a backlight 60, for example, theabove-described light source circuit unit 1 may be arranged on thebottom face of a back chassis 61, and a diffusion sheet 63 is supportedby a middle chassis 62 on the upper side of the light source circuitunit 1. At the front side of the backlight 60, there is arranged aliquid crystal panel 64. At the back side of the back chassis 61, thereis arranged an LED driving circuit substrate 65. This LED drivingcircuit substrate 65 is provided with a connector 65A. In the vicinityof an end of the back chassis 61, there is provided a through-hole 61Ain a shape corresponding to an end face shape (rectangular form) of thecircuit substrate 11 on the light source circuit unit 1. An end side ofthe circuit substrate 11 is folded back to follow along the back sidevia the through-hole 61A. An end of the circuit substrate 11 is aconnector plug-in port, and this connector plug-in port is plugged intothe connector 65A of the LED driving circuit substrate 65 to beelectrically connected with one another. It is to be noted that, when awiring pattern 14 at the circuit substrate 11 side is formed of Al, andterminals at the connector 65A side are plated with gold (Au), a frontedge of the connector plug-in port of the circuit substrate 11 may bedesirably plated with gold or tin to prevent electrical corrosion due todissimilar metals.

Typically, electrical connection between an LED circuit substrate and anLED driving circuit substrate has been carried out in such a manner thateach substrate is provided with a connector, and these two connectorsare joined using a wiring member such as an FFC and a harness. However,in a situation where a unit price of the LED itself has decreasedsignificantly, costs of connector terminals and a wiring member have notbeen negligible. On the contrary, in the present embodiment, because thecircuit substrate 11 of the light source circuit unit 1 has theflexibility, and is foldable as far as the back side of the back chassis61 as shown in FIG. 9, a connector and a wiring member on the relevantcircuit substrate 11 are not necessary, which makes it possible toreduce a component count and costs.

Application Example 4

FIG. 10 also shows a structure of a liquid crystal display using adirect-type backlight. In a backlight 70, for example, theabove-described light source circuit unit 1 may be arranged on thebottom face of a back chassis 71, and a diffusion sheet 73 is supportedby a middle chassis 72 on the upper side of the light source circuitunit 1. The light source circuit unit 1 is also provided with theabove-described reflection sheet 58. At the front side of the backlight70, there is arranged a liquid crystal panel 74. At the back side of theback chassis 71, there is arranged an LED driving circuit substrate 75for providing a drive current to the light source circuit unit 1. ThisLED driving circuit substrate 75 is provided with a connector 75A.Electrical connection between the light source circuit unit 1 and theLED driving circuit substrate 75 is the same as with the applicationexample 3. An area from the back side of the back chassis 71 to aperipheral edge portion at the front side of the liquid crystal panel 74is covered with a rear cover 76 (back side protective member).

In this backlight 70, the back chassis 71 is curved toward vertical andhorizontal end faces thereof, and the light source circuit unit 1 isalso curved accordingly. In this light source circuit unit 1, a pitchbetween the LED chips 13 is also smaller in making an approach towardthe vertical and horizontal end faces in accordance with a level ofcurvature, and a drive current to be provided for the LED chips 13 isalso reduced depending on a ratio of mounting density with narrowpitches. Further, the rear cover 76 is also provided with a taper 76Athat follows along a curved portion of the back chassis 71.

In other words, this liquid crystal display is so configured as to beseen thinner as a whole by curving the back chassis 71 and the lightsource circuit unit 1 to achieve thin vertical and horizontal end faceside, and providing the taper 76A to the rear cover 76 accordingly. In aliquid crystal display employing such a configuration, when the LED chip13 on the light source circuit unit 1 is placed toward the end faceside, an optical distance between the liquid crystal panel 74 isreduced, and a uniform pitch between the chips would cause particulateunevenness in the LED chip. On the contrary, in this application example4, a pitch between the LED chips 13 is changed depending on a level ofcurvature of the light source circuit unit 1, and a drive current to bedelivered to the LED chips 13 is also changed depending on the pitch.This makes it possible to perform a control for keeping the planeluminance at the liquid crystal panel 74 at a constant level.

Application Example 5

FIG. 11 shows a structure of a liquid crystal display using an edge-typebacklight. In a backlight 80, for example, the above-described lightsource circuit unit 1 may be arranged on a sidewall of a back chassis 81(supporting member) in opposition to an end face of a light guide plate85. On the upper side of the light source circuit unit 1, a diffusionsheet is supported by a middle chassis 82. At the front side of thebacklight 80, there is arranged a liquid crystal panel 84.

In this liquid crystal display, an irradiation direction of light thatis extracted from the sealing lens 12 of the light source circuit unit 1is converted into the diffusion sheet side by the light guide plate 85.Thereafter, as with the case of FIG. 7, the light is transmitted throughthe diffusion sheet to reach the liquid crystal panel 84, and a part ofthe light is reflected by the diffusion sheet, and further the reflectedlight thereof is returned back to the diffusion sheet by the white-colorresist layer, a reflection sheet, or the like to reach the liquidcrystal panel 84, resulting in a display operation being performed.

As the application examples 1 to 5, the direct-type and edge-typebacklights are described thus far. By using the light source circuitunits 1 or 2 according to the present embodiment as a backlight, anyvariations in the directivity and chromaticity of light to be extractedfrom each light source circuit unit 1 are reduced as compared with thelight source circuit units 100A and 100B that are described in theabove-described comparative examples 1 and 2. In other words, to thesame degree as with a currently-available light source circuit unit witha built-in package-type LED, any luminance unevenness and chromaticityunevenness such as particulate unevenness and curtain unevenness arereduced. As a result, it is possible to provide a display with highdisplay performance at lower cost than a display having a light sourcecircuit unit with a built-in package-type LED (more specifically, costis reduced by 20% to 50%).

The present technology is described thus far with reference to theembodiment and modification example thereof, although the presenttechnology is not limited to the above-described embodiment and thelike, but different variations are available. For example, in theabove-described embodiment and the like, the description is providedusing the LED chip 13 having two electrodes at one side, although asshown in FIG. 12, an LED chip 61 of a type having an n-type electrode61A and a p-type electrode 61B in opposition to one another at bothsides may be used alternatively. In such a case, the pedestal 14C isformed integrally with other wiring layer 14B, and a transparent paste62 is conductive. In other words, a drive current is provided to thep-type electrode 61B of one side on the LED chip 61 through the wiringlayer 14A and the wire 15A, and a drive current is provided to then-type electrode 61A of the other side through the wiring layer 14B andthe pedestal 14C.

It is to be noted that the present technology may be also configured asfollows.

-   (1) A light source circuit unit, including: a circuit substrate    having a wiring pattern on a surface thereof, the wiring pattern    having light reflectivity; a circular pedestal provided on the    circuit substrate; a water-repelling region provided at least from a    peripheral edge portion of the pedestal to a part of a side face of    the pedestal; and one or two or more light-emitting device chips    mounted on the pedestal, and driven by a current that flows through    the wiring pattern.-   (2) The light source circuit unit according to (1), wherein the    pedestal is a part of the wiring pattern, and the water-repelling    region is formed of a water-repelling agent.-   (3) The light source circuit unit according to (1), wherein the    pedestal is formed of a water-repelling agent.-   (4) The light source circuit unit according to any one of (1) to    (3), wherein the light-emitting device chip is a light-emitting    diode.-   (5) The light source circuit unit according to any one of (1) to    (4), wherein the light-emitting device chip has a pair of electrodes    at one side, and the wiring pattern includes the pedestal, and a    first wiring pattern and a second wiring pattern to which the    respective two electrodes of the light-emitting device chip are    electrically connected.-   (6) The light source circuit unit according to any one of (1) to    (5), wherein the light-emitting device chip has a pair of electrodes    at both sides, and the wiring pattern includes a wiring layer    serving as the pedestal and to which one of the electrodes of the    light-emitting device chip is electrically connected, and another    wiring layer to which the other of the electrodes is electrically    connected.-   (7) The light source circuit unit according to any one of (1) to    (6), wherein a part of the wiring pattern is provided with an    alignment mark for alignment in mounting the light-emitting device    chip on the pedestal and in forming the sealing lens.-   (8) An illuminator, including: a supporting member supporting    therein a light source circuit unit; and a diffusion sheet arranged    in opposition to a whole surface of the light source circuit unit,    the light source circuit unit including a circuit substrate having a    wiring pattern on a surface thereof, the wiring pattern having light    reflectivity, a circular pedestal provided on the circuit substrate,    a water-repelling region provided at least from a peripheral edge    portion of the pedestal to a part of a side face of the pedestal,    and one or two or more light-emitting device chips mounted on the    pedestal, and driven by a current that flows through the wiring    pattern.-   (9) An illuminator, including: a supporting member supporting    therein a light guide plate; a diffusion sheet arranged in    opposition to a whole surface of the light guide plate; and a light    source circuit unit arranged in opposition to an end face of the    light guide plate in the supporting member, the light source circuit    unit including a circuit substrate having a wiring pattern on a    surface thereof, the wiring pattern having light reflectivity, a    circular pedestal provided on the circuit substrate, a    water-repelling region provided at least from a peripheral edge    portion of the pedestal to a part of a side face of the pedestal,    and one or two or more light-emitting device chips mounted on the    pedestal, and driven by a current that flows through the wiring    pattern.-   (10) An illuminator, including: a supporting member having a    through-hole that passes through from a front side to a back side;    an optical sheet supported at the front side of the supporting    member; a driving substrate having a connector, and arranged at the    back side of the supporting member; and a light source circuit unit    that is foldable and arranged between the optical sheet and the    supporting member, the light source circuit unit extending up to the    back side of the supporting member via the through-hole, and being    electrically connected with the driving substrate via the connector,    the light source circuit unit including a circuit substrate having a    wiring pattern on a surface thereof, the wiring pattern having light    reflectivity, a circular pedestal provided on the circuit substrate,    a water-repelling region provided at least from a peripheral edge    portion of the pedestal to a part of a side face of the pedestal,    and one or two or more light-emitting device chips mounted on the    pedestal, and driven by a current that flows through the wiring    pattern.-   (11) An illuminator, including: a supporting member having a    through-hole that passes through from a front side to a back side;    an optical sheet supported at the front side of the supporting    member; a driving substrate having a connector, and arranged at the    back side of the supporting member; a plurality of light source    circuit units arranged side-by-side between the optical sheet and    the supporting member; and a connecting member that is foldable and    reaching the back side via the through-hole from inside of the    supporting member, the connecting member being electrically    connected with each of the light source circuit units via an    anisotropic conductive resin, and being electrically connected with    the driving substrate via the connector, the light source circuit    unit including a circuit substrate having a wiring pattern on a    surface thereof, the wiring pattern having light reflectivity, a    circular pedestal provided on the circuit substrate, a    water-repelling region provided at least from a peripheral edge    portion of the pedestal to a part of a side face of the pedestal,    and one or two or more light-emitting device chips mounted on the    pedestal, and driven by a current that flows through the wiring    pattern.-   (12) An illuminator, including: an optical sheet; a supporting    member having a curved bottom face, the curved bottom face being    curved to allow a distance between the curved bottom face and the    optical sheet to be reduced as approaching an end face from center;    a light source circuit unit that is foldable and having a plurality    of light-emitting device chips that are arranged in (one or two or    more) columns, the light source circuit unit being housed along the    curved bottom face in the supporting member; and a back side    protective member covering a whole back side of the supporting    member from vicinity of both ends of the optical sheet, and having    an inclined surface that follows along the curved bottom face of the    supporting member, the light source circuit unit including a circuit    substrate having a wiring pattern on a surface thereof, the wiring    pattern having light reflectivity, a circular pedestal provided on    the circuit substrate, a water-repelling region provided at least    from a peripheral edge portion of the pedestal to a part of a side    face of the pedestal, and one or two or more light-emitting device    chips mounted on the pedestal, and driven by a current that flows    through the wiring pattern.-   (13) The illuminator according to (12), wherein an arrangement pitch    in a column direction of the plurality of light-emitting device    chips becomes narrower as a width of the housing space becomes    narrower.-   (14) The illuminator according to (13), wherein a drive current to    be applied to the plurality of light-emitting device chips for    uniform plane luminance is adjusted depending on the arrangement    pitch in the column direction of the light-emitting device chips.-   (15) A display, including: a display panel; and a light source    circuit unit as a light source for the display panel, the light    source circuit unit including a circuit substrate having a wiring    pattern on a surface thereof, the wiring pattern having light    reflectivity, a circular pedestal provided on the circuit substrate,    a water-repelling region provided at least from a peripheral edge    portion of the pedestal to a part of a side face of the pedestal,    and one or two or more light-emitting device chips mounted on the    pedestal, and driven by a current that flows through the wiring    pattern.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A display comprising: at least one circuitsubstrate having a light-reflective wiring pattern on a surface thereof;light-emitting element chips; pedestals onto which at least one of thelight-emitting element chips are mounted; a plurality of sealing lenseson each of the pedestals, each sealing lens covering a whole area of theone or more light-emitting element chips; and a reflective sheet havingan opening corresponding to each pedestal and being over an entire areaabove the circuit substrate, wherein the pedestals are mounted on the atleast one circuit substrate, the pedestals are formed of awater-repellant agent, and the pedestals are formed integrally with thewiring pattern, and wherein the one or more light-emitting element chipsare driven by a current through the light-reflective wiring pattern. 2.The display of claim 1, wherein there is a plurality of circuitsubstrates that are arranged side-by-side.
 3. The display of claim 2,wherein the circuit substrates are flexible.
 4. The display of claim 1,wherein the pedestals are made of a thermally conductive material andthe pedestals transfer heat from the one or more light-emitting elementchips.
 5. The display of claim 1, wherein a water-repelling region isformed from a peripheral edge portion of the pedestals to a part of aside face of the pedestals.
 6. The display of claim 1, wherein thesealing lenses each have a dome-like shape.
 7. The display of claim 1,wherein the sealing lenses are formed of a transparent resin.
 8. Thedisplay of claim 1, wherein the sealing lenses are formed of silicon. 9.The display of claim 1, wherein the sealing lenses are formed of anacrylic resin.
 10. The display of claim 1, wherein the sealing lenseseach have a hemispherical shape.
 11. The display of claim 1, wherein awhite-color resist layer is provided between the light-reflective wiringpattern and an outer circumferential portion of the sealing lenses. 12.The display of claim 1, wherein the circuit substrate is provided with aconnector joined to a flexible cable at one side of the reflectivesheet.
 13. The display of claim 2, wherein the plurality of the circuitsubstrates electrically connected to each other.
 14. The display ofclaim 1, further comprising a liquid crystal panel over the reflectivesheet.
 15. The display of claim 1, wherein each of the light-emittingelement chips has two electrodes at one side.
 16. The display of claim1, wherein each of the light-emitting element chips has one electrode onone side and another electrode on an opposite side.
 17. The display ofclaim 1, wherein the pedestals are circular.
 18. The display of claim15, wherein the two electrodes include wires.
 19. The display of claim16, wherein at least one electrode includes a wire.